System and method of performing an engineering-based site development and risk assessment process

ABSTRACT

A system and method is provided for on-site site risk assessment and to encourage collaboration between professional disciplines related to land development and construction projects. A graphical risk analysis system is provided based on answers to interdisciplinary questions related to risks. Use of the system promotes a complete checklist of interdisciplinary and informational consultation which, when completed for a project, assesses the risk related to land development and allows for reduction in risk as the project progresses.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-In-Part claiming priority benefitfrom U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/689,290 entitled“Multidiscipline Site Development and Risk Assessment Process” filed onOct. 20, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,693,724.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a system and method to encourage collaborationbetween various disciplines and more particularly to a system toencourage collaboration between various engineering disciplines relatedto land development and building construction projects.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many engineering professionals are required in order to complete a largebuilding construction project. Numerous consultations with civil,environmental, structural and geotechnical engineers as well as land andsite development professionals are required.

Information from each engineering discipline must be shared in order tocoordinate various aspects of the construction project and reduce risks.A risk assessment “protocol” is usually developed on a case by casebasis to qualitatively address the risks at a particular site in orderto reduce the degree of uncertainty.

The prior art does not provide a useful and uniform method to assesssite development risks and reduce the uncertainty involved in aconstruction project.

Therefore, a system and method are needed that encourage collaborationbetween professionals in different engineering disciplines working onlarge construction projects. The system should allow information to beeasily accessible to each professional and project management. Thesystem should statistically and/or qualitatively address the known risksand reduce the degree of uncertainty for a construction project.Further, the system should function at a construction site. Therefore,the system should be capable of manual operation, function with minimalor no electrical power and be resistant to weather and other ruggedworksite conditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One preferred embodiment provides a transparency system that utilizeslight reflectivity and transmissivity to convey information with aseries of overlay sheets. The system is designed to encouragecollaboration between various engineering disciplines related to landdevelopment and construction projects.

The preferred embodiment provides a semi-transparent overlay related toeach engineering discipline. Each overlay provides a checklist ofinterdisciplinary and informational consultations which, when completed,reduces the risk related to site development. Each overlay displays adata section including questions which are related to the disciplines.For instance, in the “civil engineering” section, questions are posedwhich relate to roads and streets, fill and cut, erosion control,drainage and grades in the location of the project. In the “sitedevelopment” section, questions are posed which relate to grades, water,soil type, vegetation, fill, and property maintenance. In the“environmental engineering” section, questions are posed which relate tohistorical usage at the project area. In the “structural engineering”section, questions are posed which relate to the design of thefoundation system, slab thickness, steel usage and beam construction. Inthe “geotechnical engineering” section questions are posed which relateto subsurface moisture, inclusions and geological anomalies.

The questions are accessed and answered by a professional trained ineach field. Once each of the questions has been answered, a userobserves the completed answers and accesses a key that correlates“risks” with the answers provided. The “risks” may include warnings andreminder messages related to certain topics such as pre-existingconditions, suggested meetings between various disciplines, oradditional information which may be needed. These “risks” may beassociated with contact information for the engineers responsible for aparticular task or discipline in order to promote communication betweenthe various disciplines.

The graphics section provides an efficient method for identifyingpotential problems. The responses in the data section provide a way tostatistically analyze the risks associated with site development byaccessing the key that correlates responses to “risks”.

The preferred embodiment is an improvement over the prior art because itprovides a statistical method of evaluating risk based oninterdisciplinary questions related to site development, is easilyaccessible to individuals in different project progressions andencourages collaboration between individuals, and because it provides avisual method of ascertaining risks and addressing those risks at aparticular construction site to reduce the degree of uncertainty.

An alternate embodiment provides a transparency system that operatesbased on light traveling through the overlay sheets. The transparencysystem benefits from the use of a light table or a light source placeddirectly behind the binder holding the overlays.

Those skilled in the art will further appreciate the above-mentionedfeatures and advantages of the invention together with other importantaspects upon reading the detailed description that follows inconjunction with the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the invention can be obtained from thefollowing detailed description of one exemplary embodiment as consideredin conjunction with the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of an overlay binder.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of an overlay binder.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of a single overlay.

FIG. 4 shows an isometric view of a light ray in relation to a set ofoverlays.

FIG. 5 shows a partial view of an aerial map overlay.

FIG. 6 shows a plat map overlay.

FIG. 7A shows a fill map overlay.

FIG. 7B shows a combined fill map overlay, aerial map overlay and platmap for overlay.

FIG. 8 shows a detail view of a building site.

FIG. 9 shows a vertical resistivity map.

FIG. 10A shows a partial view of a horizontal electrical resistivity mapoverlay.

FIG. 10B shows electrical resistivity map overlay with a fill mapoverlay.

FIG. 10C shows a partial view of structural engineering map overlay.

FIG. 11 shows a combined view of multiple overlays, including thegraphical and data sections.

FIG. 12 shows an alternate embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows a flow chart of a method of a preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In the descriptions that follow, like parts are marked throughout thespecification and drawings with the same numerals, respectively. Thedrawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and certain figuresmay be shown in exaggerated or generalized form in the interest ofclarity and conciseness.

The exemplary embodiments described herein relate to a transparencybased risk assessment system for construction projects. The disclosedembodiments do not particularly utilize a computer system for field use,although computer systems including associated programs, memory, storageand printing capabilities may be used to generate the transparencymaterials. As for a computer based risk assessment system, patentapplication Ser. No. 10/689,290 to Bryant discloses such a riskassessment system requiring a computer system which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

A first embodiment of the present invention is comprised of atransparency system allowing the viewing of multiple overlays. Theoverlays are held in place and indexed by a retaining pin and a bindersystem. This system allows viewing of multiple transparencies withvisual and data information along with identification information as tothe identity of each engineering professional responsible for eachengineering aspect of the project.

Moving then to FIG. 1, transparency system 100 consists of overlay set150 comprising overlays 105, 110, 115, 120, and 125. The number ofoverlays may vary depending on the number of engineering disciplinesaddressed and the complexity of the construction project. The overlaysinclude retaining holes 106, 111, 116, 121, and 126. Retaining pin 140passes through hole 104 in binder 135 and threads into hole 132. Theoverlays are held in place by binder 135 and retaining pin 140 as knownin the art.

As shown in FIG. 2, binder 135 includes rectangular indention 136. Therectangular indention in cooperation with retaining pin 140 allows theoverlays to pivot into varied angular positions with respect to eachother and with respect to binder 135. The various angular positionsallow the overlays to be viewed together, separately or in variouscombinations to arrive at different views. An alignment surface 137 isalso provided in binder 135. In use, each overlay may abut the alignmentsurface in order to align each overlay with the others.

Referring to FIGS. 3A, 3B and 11, the overlays will be described. Eachoverlay is comprised of graphics section 315, data section 320,identification section 325, contact section 336 and key section 341. Inthis example, overlay 105 is assigned to the discipline of “civilengineering”.

Identification section 325 allows for identification of projectinformation, inception and completion dates and revision information forthe overlay. In the preferred embodiment, bar code 324 is provided forautomated logging of the overlay. As a project progresses, the overlaymay be revised to include new questions. New questions may be added toset of questions 330 as each question is answered or the task relatingto each question has been completed. The engineering professional incharge of a task may be replaced and the contact information updated ina revision to overlay 105. Thus, identification section 325 serves totrack the revision of the overlay.

Contact section 336 includes contact information for engineeringprofessionals for those in charge of the disciplines of civilengineering, environmental engineering, site development, structuralengineering and geotechnical engineering. For each discipline, there isa section for contact information 339, status active 338 and statusinactive 337. “Status active” indicates that the individual is currentlyworking on the project. Conversely, “status inactive” indicates that theindividual is no longer working on the project.

Each overlay also includes risk key section 341 including the listing ofquestion IDs and questions for its assigned discipline and including atext version of the risks and risk IDs.

Question identification number 350 correlates to a specific riskidentified in risk key section 341. Risk key section 341 correlatesappropriate responses to specific questions by specific disciplines witha risk and a curative action.

The risk data section 320 graphically groups and displays risks whichhave been generated by professionals in the civil engineering section1151, the environmental section 1152, the site development engineeringsection 1153, the structural engineering section 1154, and geotechnicalengineering section 1155. The risks displayed are derived from keysection 341 for all risks associated with the project. The generatedrisks are tasks for the viewer to perform.

Risk data section 320 is comprised of a set of question boxes 330 and aset of response boxes 335, of which each response box has an associatedset of responses 340, and of which each response box is associated toone question box in the set of question boxes 330. Each set of responsesis prompted by a question in an associated question box. Each questionresiding in set of question boxes 330 is identified by a questionidentification number 350.

In general, the question boxes and response boxes are specific to theengineering discipline addressed by each overlay. However, somequestions and responses are common among the engineering disciplines. Inthis case, the questions boxes and the response boxes are positioned inthe same relative position on each overlay so that the responsesoverlap.

In a preferred embodiment, responses 340 are mapped to the responseboxes 335 as follows. As in Table 1, first response indicates 335 a thediscipline code (C, D, E, G, and S). Four responses 335 b, 335 c, 335 d,and 335 e form a response list and indicate each of the “YES”, “NO”,“SKIP”, “DNK” risk identifiers from Table 2, respectively. A sixthresponse, 335 f, includes the completion status indicators: green checkmark, yellow warning sign or red stop sign.

In another embodiment, each response box in set of response boxes 335 ispre-labeled with a letter indicating which discipline should use therespective response box to answer the question presented in theassociated question box. The letter is lightly shaded, also known as“ghost script”, so as not to obscure responses in overlays below it.Alternatively, a single grid of letters corresponding to the set ofresponse boxes 335, may be placed on the bottom-most overlay. Preferablythis grid would be highly reflective, so that the letters could be seenthrough all layers of overlays.

In another embodiment, responses 340 may be in the form of a writtenword or a symbol from a response library. For example, a question mayask if a job is started, is not started, is completed, or if the answeris not known? Proper responses might be: for a job that is started butnot completed—an “S”; for a job that is completed a “C”; for a job thatis not started “N”; and for unknown “?”. The response library may becommunicated in an additional information section, one informationsection for each overlay or alternatively one information section forthe set of overlays for the project, so that appropriate responses areavailable to the user.

In a preferred embodiment, the graphical presentation of risks includesyellow warning signs as uncompleted risk areas 1160 and green checkmarks as completed risk areas 1161. If a risk area is overdue, a redstop sign is depicted. The overlaid data response section 1110 allowsthe viewer to view a graphical risk analysis totaling the number ofcheck marks and the number of warning signs displayed. The larger numberof unchecked risks shows a greater amount of risk to the completion ofthe project. Simply adding the number of completed boxes numerically anddividing by the total provides a statistical measure of risk evaluation.

If one uncompleted risk area requires the viewer to inquire about aspecific discipline, then the user may use the overlay contact section1111 to identify the appropriate person responsible for the risk. Eachcontact person and each risk are all visible from the overlay setwithout moving any of the overlays by the viewer.

Civil engineering discipline questions include questions relating to thecivil engineering aspects of the project. Such questions may include:Have you participated in an early development, pre-construction meetingto evaluate potential civil site challenges? Has the civil engineerprovided positive grades on each of the building lots? Has sufficientpad design been done to avoid excessive cut and fill beneath thebuilding pads? Has the erosion control been addressed in the civilengineering report? Have retaining structures been identified for thissite? Has the civil engineer provided control of surface and subsurfacewater migration, if the potential exists? Have the final grades anddrainage been validated as specified in the civil engineering designdocument?

Site development engineering discipline questions include questionsrelating to the development of the project site. Such questions mayinclude: Does the tree canopy extend over the building site pad? Havethere been prior roads, fences, and trails that existed at this site?Does this site have expansive soils? Does this site have excessiveelevation changes? Have there been cuts or fills on pads that exceedfive feet? Are there proper positive drainage grades away from thehomes? Are there variable soil types at this site? Is there knownsurface or subsurface water present at this site? Have the homeownersbeen informed about the importance of proper maintenance?

Environmental engineering discipline questions include questionsrelating to the environment surrounding the project site for the user toanswer. Such questions may include: Have you participated in an earlydevelopment, pre-construction meeting to evaluate potentialenvironmental site challenges? Have aerial photographs and otherapplicable maps been reviewed to access present and prior land usage?Have there been any environmental issues that need to be communicated atthis site?

Geotechnical engineering discipline questions include “ground related”questions. Such questions may include: Have you participated in an earlydevelopment, pre-construction meeting to evaluate potential geotechnicalsite challenges? Has a geotechnical report that included all availablesub surface information been provided to you? Have there been asufficient number of spatial densities of soil boring to characterizethe soils at the site? Were the grading operations complete prior to thegeotechnical investigation? Has the placement of fill been tested fordensity and moisture content? Have any known or expected unfavorablesite and sub surface conditions been identified at this site? Has thegeotechnical report provided recommendations for foundation systems, andhave associated risks been defined for each? Has the geotechnical reportprovided suitable design parameters for the foundation system? Have soiltreatment options been identified and recommended in the geotechnicalreport?

Structural engineering discipline questions include questions relatingto the structure or building. Such questions may include: Have youparticipated in an early development, pre-construction meeting toevaluate potential structural site challenges? Have you received astructural plan from the structural engineer? Have you had a pre-pourverification of conformance of the as-built conditions with thefoundation design? Have you had a post-pour verification of conformanceof the as-built conditions with the foundation design?

Table 1 shows an exemplary list of questions for use in set of questionboxes 330. The user identifies risk by matching the risk identificationnumber in the risk key and correlating it with the “yes”, “no”, “skip”,or “dnk” (do not know) response supplied by a given discipline.

TABLE 1 ID Area Question YES NO SKIP DNK 37 C Have you participated inan early development, pre- 0 102 0 103 construction meeting to evaluatepotential civil site challenges? 19 C Has the civil engineer providedpositive grades on 0 104 0 105 each of the building lots? 20 C Hassufficient pad design been done to avoid 0 104 0 107 excessive cut andfill beneath the building pads? 21 C Has the erosion control beenaddressed in the civil 0 108 0 109 engineering report? 22 C Hasretaining structures been identified for this site? 110 0 0 111 23 C Hascivil engineer provided control of surface and 0 112 0 113 subsurfacewater migration, if the potential exists? 24 C Have the final grades anddrainage been validated 114 0 115 as specified in the civil engineeringdesign document? 29 D Does the tree canopy extend over building sitepad? 122 0 0 123 30 D Have there been prior roads, fences, and trailsthat 124 0 0 125 existed at this site? 31 D Does this site haveexpansive soils? 127 0 0 128 38 D Does this site have excessiveelevation changes? 138 0 0 139 32 D Have there been cuts or fills onpads that exceed 129 0 0 130 five feet? 33 D Are there proper positivedrainage grades away 0 131 0 132 from the homes? 34 D Are there variablesoil types at this site? 133 0 0 134 35 D Is there known surface orsubsurface water present 135 0 0 136 at this site? 36 D Have thehomeowners been informed about the 0 137 0 137 importance of propermaintenance? 7 E Have you participated in an early development, pre- 085 0 86 construction meeting to evaluate potential environmental sitechallenges? 8 E Have aerial photographs and other applicable maps 0 87 087 been reviewed to access present and prior land usage? 10 E Have therebeen any environmental issues that 88 0 0 89 need to be communicated atthis site? 11 G Have you participated in an early development, pre- 0 900 91 construction meeting to evaluate potential geotechnical sitechallenges? 12 G Has a geotechnical report that included all available 092 0 92 sub surface information been provided to you? 13 G Has therebeen a sufficient number of spatial 0 93 0 94 densities of soil boringsto characterize the soils at the site? 14 G Were the grading operationscomplete prior to the 0 95 0 95 geotechnical investigation? 15 G Has theplacement of fill been tested for density and 0 96 0 97 moisturecontent? 16 G Has any known or expected unfavorable site and 0 98 0 98sub surface conditions been identified at this site? 9 G Has thegeotechnical report provided 0 99 0 100 recommendations for foundationsystems, and have associated risks been defined for each? 17 G Has thegeotechnical report provided suitable design 0 101 0 100 parameters forthe foundation system? 18 G Have soil treatment options been identifiedand 0 101 0 100 recommended in the geotechnical report? 25 S Have youparticipated in an early development, pre- 0 116 0 117 constructionmeeting to evaluate potential structural site challenges? 26 S Have youreceived structural plan from the 0 118 0 119 structural engineer? 27 SHave you had a pre-pour verification of 0 120 0 120 conformance of theas-built conditions with the foundation design? 28 S Have you had apost-pour verification of 0 121 0 121 conformance of the as-builtconditions with the foundation design?

The “ID” column in Table 1 displays the question identification number350 of the question. The “area” column displays the disciplinecorresponding to the question. For example, in one preferred embodiment,the following disciplines are represented by discipline codes, C=Civil,D=Site Development, E=Environmental, G=Geotechnical, and S=Structural.The “question” column contains the text of the question that ispresented to the user in question box 330. The “yes”, “no”, “skip”, and“dnk” (do not know) columns display a set of risk ID numbers assigned toeach response for each question.

Table 2 shows an exemplary list of risks which may be presented in thekey section:

TABLE 2 ID Area Risk 102 C Setup up a meeting with all interestedparties on civil engineering site challenges. 103 C Meeting needed toreduce information gaps, communicate process, and reduce risk. 104 CContact your land developer about positive grades on each of thebuilding lots. 105 C Determine grade requirements for this site, BCIrecommend 2% grade eight feet from the perimeter of a structure. 106 CContact land developer regarding higher risk involved with excessive cutand fill. 107 C Review cut and fill information. 108 C Contact civilengineer for an erosion control recommendation. 109 C Review civilengineer report for erosion control recommendations. 110 C Review detaildesign of structural engineer. 111 C Review civil engineer design plansfor retaining structure. 112 C Contact Bryant Consultants Inc. on a planof action on surface and subsurface water migration. 113 C Review risksassociated with perched ground water. 114 C Contact civil engineer tovalidate the final grades and drainage. 115 C Contact the land developerto see if the final grades and drainage has been validated. 122 D Reviewremediation techniques for trees. 123 D Determine if the canopy of thetrees at this site extend over building site pads. 124 D Considerpossible soil treatments for the affected areas of historical usage. 125D Contact Earth Systems Technologies to discuss course of action onhistorical land usage study. 127 D Consider soil treatment method(s) tohelp reduce the soil movement potential and the corresponding reductionin predicted movement. 128 D Review geotechnical report concerning soiltypes. 129 D Review compaction, treatments, and possible deep foundationrequirements. 130 D Contact Earth Systems Technologies to discuss courseof action on grade analysis study. 131 D Contact civil engineer on thecorrection of grades around the home. 132 D Determine proposed gradesaround the homes at this site. 133 D Contact geotechnical and sitedevelopment engineers to identify variable soil risks. 134 D ContactEarth Systems Technologies to discuss course of action on variable soilanalysis study. 135 D Contact geotechnical engineer to identify thelot(s) where known perched water conditions may exist. 136 D ContactEarth Systems Technologies to discuss course of action on identifyingperched water conditions. 137 D Develop a process for individualhomeowners to review the maintenance requirement of their new home. 138D Consider the usage of designed retaining structures. Contact thecivil, geotechnical and structural engineers. 139 D Excessive elevationchanges may result in excessive cuts and fills, slope failures, andthus, should be strongly considered in the overall type of foundationsystem. 85 E Setup up a meeting with all interested parties onenvironmental site challenges. 86 E Meeting needed to reduce informationgaps, communicate process, and reduce risk. 87 E Contact Earth SystemsTechnologies to discuss course of action on historical land usage study.88 E Inform all interested parties about environmental issues related tothis site. 89 E Contact Land Developer to ask for environmental impactstudy. 90 G Setup up a meeting with all interested parties ongeotechnical site challenges. 91 G Meeting needed to reduce informationgaps, communicate process, and reduce risk. 92 G Contact your landdeveloper about getting a copy of the geotechnical report. 93 GAdditional geotechnical and or geophysical data is needed at the site.Contact the geotechnical engineer. 94 G Refer to recommended guidelinesand industry standards for spatial boring density for subdivisions andindividual lots. 95 G Contact geotechnical engineer to see if finishedpad elevations alter the original geotechnical recommendations. 96 GContact your land developer, geotechnical, and structural engineersabout testing fill materials. 97 G Improperly compacted fill can resultin excessive settlement which can cause differential foundation movementprimarily in slab on grade foundations. Fill soils placed in a drystated can result in excessive upward differential movements. 98 GContact Earth Systems Technologies for a plan of action to identifyunfavorable site and sub surface conditions. 99 G Contact geotechnicalengineer for recommended foundation systems. 100 G Review Pros and Consof foundation design. 101 G Contact the geotechnical engineer for designparameters. 116 S Setup up a meeting with all interested parties onstructural site challenges. 117 S Meeting needed to reduce informationgaps, communicate process, and reduce risk. 118 S Contact the structuralengineer for a copy of their plan. 119 S Contact the land developerregarding structural engineer plan. 120 S Contact structural engineer toarrange an appointment to inspect as-built prior to pour. 121 S Contactstructural engineer to arrange an appointment to inspect as-built afterthe pour.

The ID column in Table 2 displays the risk ID number of an associatedquestion. The area column displays the discipline to which the questioncorresponds. In this example, the following codes and disciplines areused, C=Civil, D=Site Development, E=Environmental, G=Geotechnical, andS=Structural.

Graphics section 315 provides visual cues and data relating to thebuilding site. Examples of data relating to the building site includebuilding layouts, aerial maps, plat maps, fill maps and electricalresistivity maps. The overlays have a defined set of dimensions “A” and“B” indicating a scale, so that each graphics section corresponds to thesame scale on each overlay and appears the same place on each overlay.Furthermore, each graphics section corresponds to the same physicallongitudinal and latitudinal coordinates so that the same geographiclocation is depicted. In this example, the coordinates are showndefining a rectangle (x₁, y₁), (x₂, y₁), (x₂, y₂), (x₁, y₂).

Referring then to FIG. 3B, overlay 125 is described as a second example.In general, overlay 125 also includes graphics section 315, risk datasection 320, contact section 336, identification section 325 and keysection 341. However, it is noted that question ID 350 a, question boxes330 a, and responses 335 a are shifted in position by the verticaldistance “C” and horizontal distance “D”. Similarly, status active 330a, contact information box 339 a and status inactive box 337 a areshifted vertically by a distance “E”.

Referring to FIG. 11, when each of overlays 105, 110, 115, 120 and 125are assembled, the transparent nature of the overlays and the relativepositions of the question boxes, response boxes and contact informationboxes allow a viewer to see each set for each discipline at the sametime. As shown on FIG. 11, overlay set 150 includes a set of questionboxes and response boxes for civil engineering 1151, environmentalengineering 1152, site development engineering 1153, structuralengineering 1154, and geotechnical engineering 1155. Similarly, overlayset 150 includes contact information for civil engineering 1115,environmental engineering 1116, site development engineering 1117,structural engineering 1118, and geotechnical engineering 1119.Furthermore, as can be seen in overlaid graphics section 1105, allgraphical cues are visible in varying degrees at the same time from eachof overlays 105, 110, 115, 120 and 125.

FIG. 4 describes the system in use. In use, light ray 408 passes througheach of the overlays individual overlays being partially reflected fromimages on individual sheets, so that a viewer at vantage point 420observes a composite image of the combined overlays.

FIG. 5 shows an overlay which includes a graphical representation of thephysical features of a worksite associated with the structuralengineering discipline. The physical features may be located andidentified by methods such as aerial photographs. Aerial map 500comprises graphical representations of trees 540 and 550, ponds 510, 515and 520, existing structures 525, 530, road 505 and fence line 521. Thegraphical representations may be in the form of line drawings coded withvarious patters related to height, density or material and may alsoinclude aerial photographic images.

FIG. 6 shows an overlay that includes a plat map graphics section of theworksite associated with the site development engineering discipline.Plat map 600 describes a set of individual plats 620 of a proposedresidential community, as well as key features such as existingstructures 525, 530 and road 505.

FIG. 7A shows a fill map 700 including graphics section for a filloverlay of the worksite associated with the civil engineeringdiscipline. In relation to construction activity on the worksite, fillareas 705, 710, 715 required fill material to be added to level ponds510, 515, and 520, respectfully; cut areas 720 and 730 require removalof material to ensure a proper grade on which to build.

Electrical soil resistivity measurements may be made to determine thesoil moisture content and underground water formations of a given area.Soil resistivity measurements play an important role in assessing thesuitability of constructing a building.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-section of two intersecting vertical plots ofresistivity data. Resistivity data is collected from electrical teststakes 950 placed in the ground on a grid labeled V-Z and A-E in a firsthorizontal direction and labeled −5 to 0 and 0 to +5 in a secondhorizontal direction. Current is injected at various points on and nearthe stakes during the data collection. Various methods of obtainingvertical plots of resistivity data exist in the art. One example isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,295,512, entitled “Subsurface Mapping” toBryant, incorporated herein by reference. The collected resistivity datacan be organized to show horizontal resistivity maps indicatingequipotential contours at specific depths 905, 910, 920, 930 and 940.The resistivity data indicates equipotential contours indicative of areaof high and low resistivity. It is known in the art that low resistivityoften indicates ground water and hazardous conditions.

FIG. 10A shows a horizontal resistivity map graphical section for aresistivity overlay for lot 800 for the geotechnical engineeringdiscipline. FIG. 10B shows the horizontal resistivity map 1000 whenoverlaid with aerial map 500, plat map 600 and fill map 700 for lot 800.Horizontal resistivity map 1000 shows a cross section of resistivitydata chosen at one specific depth selected from depths 905, 910, 920,930 or 940. Formations 1005, 1010, 1015 and 1020 represent variousgeological formations and moisture contents for a specific depth.Horizontal resistivity map 1000 includes a set of grid lines 1025labeled horizontally from −5 to 0 and 0 to +5 and vertically from V to Zand A to E, allowing for determinations of specific areas that mayrequire conditioning prior to building.

Referring now to FIG. 10C, a structural engineering map is shown. Thestructural engineering map includes plan drawings for all existingstructures relevant to the site. In this example, structural engineeringmap 1900 includes structure 525, concrete feature 526, and road 505.Other structural features such as foundations, retaining walls and roadgrading can be included as well as other structural features. Thestructural engineering map is associated with overlay 125 for thestructural engineering discipline.

Referring again to FIG. 11, the use of the preferred embodiment will bedescribed. Set of overlays 150 are viewed simultaneously as representedin the overlaid graphics section 1105 and overlaid data response section1110. The overlays provide a tool for ready analysis of various types ofdata along with information provided visually in overlaid graphicssection 1105 and in response to the progress shown based on questionsand responses in the overlaid data response section 1110. Overlaid keysection 1112 provides ready access to the key code, risks and questionsassociated with the risks.

As a project begins, each of the overlays is prepared by a projectmanager or an engineering professional in charge of a specificengineering discipline. The various maps are located and scaled. Also,photographic information for the geographic area covered by thecoordinates is abstracted into a set of line drawings. Cross hatching orcolors may be added to various features according to a legend (notshown). Revision numbers are recorded. The set of overlays is thenassembled using the binder and then distributed to project managementand engineering staff. The set of overlays viewed simultaneously formdark and/or significantly colored areas in the graphics section thatindicate certain geographic risk areas may be present. The geographicareas corresponding to the risk areas may need special attention andproject management to mitigate project risk. Similarly, the set ofoverlays combine to form light or dark response boxes in overlaid dataresponse section 1110 that serve to alert the viewer that certaincontractors working on the project have or have not addressed questionsor tasks that serve to mitigate the project risk. Each viewer of thecompleted set of overlays, when indexed, can readily observe the numberof red blocks, yellow blocks and green blocks contained in the responseboxes in the risk data section. These numbers, when divided by the totalprovide a quick statistical method of analyzing the project “risk”.

FIG. 7B shows the graphics section of an overlay combination of fill map700, aerial map 500 and plat map 600. Aerial map 500 and plat map 600indicate features such as ponds 510, 515 and 520, individual plats 620within building site 610. Additional features are added by fill map 700such as fill areas 705, 710, 715 and cut areas 720, 730.

When viewed in combination, the aerial, plat and fill overlays identifyseveral areas of interest where graphical information overlap to aid indecision making. One such area of interest is building site 610, whichincludes pond 520, fill area 715 and cut area 730.

FIG. 8 shows an enlarged view of building site 610. Lot 800 is an areaof interest for electrical resistivity measurement due to fill area 715and cut area 730 required to create a proper grade for construction.There is potential for moist soil conditions presented by ponds 510,515, 520 filled by fill areas 705, 710, 715 which poses a risk to anypotential building built on lot 800.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a method for using the transparency system toassess project risk for a geotechnical construction project. The methodutilizes the apparatus of FIGS. 1-4: a geotechnical overlay 207comprising a graphics section, key section, responses section, contactssection, and identification section. There is an identified set of risks205 and a response list 206 from which responses to a set of questionscontained in the key section may be selected.

The method begins in step 210 of providing a first set of civildiscipline questions for a first geotechnical overlay. The first set ofcivil discipline questions are provided in the key section and arepreferably chosen from those questions shown in Table 1 associated tothe geotechnical area of interest for the first geotechnical overlay.Each question in the first set of questions has a question id number.The first set of civil discipline questions is a associated to a set ofproject risks in step 212, each project risk being labeled with a riskid number. A response list is associated to each question and to eachproject risk in step 214, wherein a set of responses for “Yes”, “No”,“Skip”, “DNK” are provided as risk id numbers as shown in Table 1. Apreferred response list is shown in Table 2. In step 216, a questionfrom the first set of civil discipline questions is then associated to aresponse box in the first geotechnical overlay. In step 217, a contactresponsible for providing the answers to the questions is chosen andrecorded in the contacts area of the first geotechnical overlay.

When some action has occurred on the project requiring a response in thefirst geotechnical overlay, step 218 is performed, where a user choosesand records a response from the response list associated to a responsebox. Then in step 220, a completion status indicator is filled out inthe response box, such as a green check mark, a yellow warning sign or ared stop sign, wherein the green check mark indicates a completed itemand the yellow warning sign and red stop sign indicate uncompleteditems. The red stop sign may indicate that the associated risk needsimmediate attention. The method continues in step 222 by recording astatus in the contact box as “status inactive” or “status active”.

The method is repeated in step 224 for all questions in the firstgeotechnical overlay and then for all additional geotechnical overlays,iterating over all additional sets of discipline questions in eachadditional geotechnical overlay. In the preferred embodiment there arefive geotechnical overlays, one each for civil discipline code, sitedevelopment code, environmental code, geotechnical code and structuralcode. Alternate embodiments may include other construction related codesor a subset of the five preferred geotechnical overlays.

Step 230 completes the assessment of project risk by placing theoverlays in a binder or on a light table and examining the completionstatus indicators in the response section. At a glance, a projectmanager can ascertain which questions are impeding the project andpresenting risk to the project. The project manager can also ascertainwhich contacts are responsible for those questions and communicate asneeded.

FIG. 12 shows an alternate embodiment of the invention. A light table1200 has a retaining pin 141 fastened perpendicular to its top surfacefor folding a transparency system 1205. Transparency system 1205comprises a set of overlays, each overlay having a through hole 1207 toallow for registration on retaining pin 141. FIG. 12 describes threelayers of overlays; however any number of overlays is possible.Individual overlays are transparent with translucent objects printed onthem. A first set of translucent objects 1210 are printed on a firstoverlay, a second set of translucent objects 1220 are printed on asecond overlay and a third set of translucent objects 1230 are printedon a third overlay. The translucent objects may be graphics, writtendata and other non-transparent markings residing on the overlay. Lighttable 1200 preferably includes a set of lamps for illuminating theoverlays from below while the overlays are typically viewed from thetop. Clamps may optionally be included for holding the overlaysstationary, for example clamp 1203, by providing threaded holes at clamppositions 1208.

In use, light table 1200 passes light through each individual overlay oftransparency system 1205 allowing the graphics, written data andmarkings to be seen through multiple overlays. However, as markingsappear in coincident locations on multiple overlays, the areas havingcoincident markings appear darker in proportion to the number ofoverlays. This darkening effect is shown as first-second overlayinterference 1240 and first-second-third overlay interference 1245.

The effect of multiple layers of markings can be used to produce colorsindicating areas requiring additional attention. Each overlay oftransparency system 1205 may have data in only a single translucentcolor. This allows for combining multiple colors to provide warningsigns of specific events. For example, if the translucent objects 1210on the first overlay were yellow and the translucent objects 1220 on thesecond overlay were blue: when viewed as a combination, the first-secondoverlay interference 1240 would appear as green.

The use of translucent overlays of different color can serve to passimportant information. For example, if the aerial overlay of FIG. 5 isplaced directly on light table 1205 and the fill overlay of FIG. 7A isplaced on top of the aerial overlay, then first-second overlayinterference 1240 would be where ponds 510, 515, 520 intersect with fillareas 705, 710, 715. If the ponds are printed as translucent yellowobjects on FIG. 5 and the fill areas are printed as translucent blueobjects on FIG. 7A, then first-second overlay interference 1240 wouldshow as green, providing a visual cue to areas requiring electricalresistivity mapping, the results of which may be overlaid as an aid tofurther identify the condition of the soil near the worksite prior tobuilding.

Although the invention has been described with reference to one or morepreferred embodiments, this description is not to be construed in alimiting sense. There is modification of the disclosed embodiments, aswell as alternative embodiments of this invention, which will beapparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art, and the inventionshall be viewed as limited only by reference to the following claims.

1. A method for generating a risks assessment for a geotechnicalconstruction project, the method comprising the steps of: providing aset of geotechnical overlays; providing a set of civil disciplinequestions on the set of geotechnical overlays; providing a set ofresponse boxes associated with the set of civil discipline questions onthe set of geotechnical overlays, such that when the set of geotechnicaloverlays are indexed, each response box of the set of response boxesappears in a different lateral position, with respect to the otherresponse boxes in the set of response boxes; providing a set of contactboxes on the set of geotechnical overlays, such that when the set ofgeotechnical overlays are indexed, each contact box in the set ofcontact boxes appears in a different lateral position; associating theset of civil discipline questions with a set of project risks and theset of response boxes; associating a response list, including a set ofrisk codes, with each risk in the set of project risks; providing a setof completion status indicators for the set of project risks; choosingat least one contact code from a set of contact codes associated with aset of contacts; recording the at least one contact code in at least onecontact box; choosing an answer from the response list for a selectedcivil discipline question in the set of civil discipline questions;recording the answer in a selected response box in the set of responseboxes associated with the selected civil discipline question as arecorded response in a set of recorded responses; recording a completionstatus indicator in the set of completion status indicators in theselected response box as one recorded status indicator in a set ofrecorded status indicators; repeating the steps of choosing an answerand recording the answer for the set of civil discipline questions onthe set of geotechnical overlays; generating a combined view of the setof response boxes, the set of contact boxes, the set of recordedresponses, and the set of recorded status indicators by indexing the setof geotechnical overlays; assessing a total risk to the geotechnicalconstruction project based on the combined view created by the indexedgeotechnical overlays.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step ofproviding a set of civil discipline questions further comprises thesteps of: providing a first set of civil discipline questions containinga civil discipline code on a first geotechnical overlay; providing asecond set of civil discipline questions containing a site developmentdiscipline code on a second geotechnical overlay; providing a third setof civil discipline questions containing an environmental disciplinecode on a third geotechnical overlay; providing a fourth set of civildiscipline questions containing a geotechnical discipline code on afourth geotechnical overlay; and providing a fifth set of civildiscipline questions containing a structural discipline code on a fifthgeotechnical overlay.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step ofplacing the set of response boxes on the set of geotechnical overlaysfurther comprises the steps of: providing a response box associated withthe first set of civil discipline questions on the first geotechnicaloverlay; providing a response box associated with the second set ofcivil discipline questions on the second geotechnical overlay; providinga response box associated with the third set of civil disciplinequestions on the third geotechnical overlay; providing a fourth responsebox associated with the fourth set of civil discipline questions on thefourth geotechnical overlay; and providing a fifth response boxassociated with the fifth set of civil discipline questions on the fifthgeotechnical overlay,
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the step ofplacing a set of contact boxes on the set of geotechnical overlaysfurther comprises the steps of: placing a first contact box on the firstgeotechnical overlay; placing a second contact box on the secondgeotechnical overlay; placing a third contact box on the thirdgeotechnical overlay; placing a fourth contact box on the fourthgeotechnical overlay; and, placing a fifth contact box on the fifthgeotechnical overlay.
 5. The method of claim 1 comprising the additionalsteps of: providing a set of user identifications adjacent the set ofcontact codes, wherein each user identification is associated with atleast one contact in the set of contacts; and, associating the set ofcontact codes to one or more of the group of: the civil discipline code,the site development code, the environmental code, the geotechnical codeand the structural code.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step ofrecording at least one completion status indicator includes a stepchosen from the group of: recording a red stop sign as an uncompletedrisk area; recording a yellow warning sign as an uncompleted risk area;and, recording a green check mark as a completed risk area.
 7. Themethod of claim 6 wherein the step of assessing a total risk to thegeotechnical construction project based on the combined view comprisesthe additional steps of: counting a number of completed risk areas inthe set of response boxes; counting a number of uncompleted risk areasin the set of response boxes; comparing the number of uncompleted riskareas to the number of completed risk areas.
 8. The method of claim 7including the additional step of looking up a contact associated to anuncompleted risk from a contact box in the set of contacts.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the step of associating a response list toeach risk in the set of project risks further includes the step ofassociating a set of tasks with the set of project risks.
 10. Atransparency system for generating a risks assessment for a projectrelated to a geotechnical construction site comprising: a binder; aretaining pin fastened to the binder; a set of semi-transparentgeotechnical overlays related to the geotechnical construction site;wherein each overlay of the set of transparent geotechnical overlays hasa hole for the insertion of the retaining pin whereby the set oftransparent geotechnical overlays are rotatably fastened to the binder;a question list including questions relating to the geotechnicalconstruction site, each question in the question list having a questioncode; a risk list including risks related to the geotechnicalconstruction site, each risk in the risk list having a risk code; acontacts list including a set of contacts related to the geotechnicalconstruction site, each contact in the contact list having a contactcode; wherein each semi-transparent geotechnical overlay in the set ofsemi-transparent geotechnical overlays further comprises: a first dataarea containing the question list; a risk assessment area comprising atleast one second data area with a response box to enter an answer to atleast one question in the question list by a user; a third data areacontaining geotechnical construction site identification information; afourth data area containing contact information from the contacts list;a graphics area for displaying geographical information related to theproject; wherein the first data area, the risk assessment area and thethird data area for every semi-transparent overlay in the set ofsemi-transparent overlays are in an overlapping relative position;wherein the second data area and the fourth data area for eachsemi-transparent overlay in the set of semi-transparent overlays is in adifferent lateral position; and, wherein the graphics area for everyoverlay in the set of semi-transparent overlays corresponds to the samegeographical longitudinal and latitude coordinates and at the samescale.
 11. The transparency system of claim 10 wherein the binder has arectangular indentation adjacent the set of semi-transparentgeotechnical overlays whereby the set of semi-transparent geotechnicaloverlays may move into varied angular positions.
 12. The transparencysystem of claim 10 wherein the binder has an alignment surface adjacentthe set of semi-transparent geotechnical overlays whereby the set ofsemi-transparent geotechnical overlays may be indexed.
 13. Thetransparency system of claim 10 wherein the set of semi-transparentgeotechnical overlays comprises at least one overlay selected from thegroup of a civil engineering overlay, a site development overlay, anenvironmental overlay, a geotechnical overlay, and a structural overlay.14. The transparency system of claim 10 wherein the set ofsemi-transparent geotechnical overlays comprise a civil engineeringoverlay, a site development overlay, an environmental overlay, ageotechnical overlay, and a structural overlay.
 15. The transparencysystem of claim 10 wherein the fourth data area containing the contactinformation further comprises a contact code.
 16. The transparencysystem of claim 10 wherein the fourth data area containing the contactinformation further comprises a status code.
 17. The transparency systemof claim 10 wherein the at least one second data area further comprisesa question box and a question identification number.
 18. Thetransparency system of claim 10 wherein the response box of the at leastone second data area contains at least one risk code associated to arisk in the risk list.
 19. The transparency system of claim 10 whereinthe response box of the at least one second data area contains a marksignifying one of the group comprising an uncompleted risk area and acompleted risk area.
 20. The transparency system of claim 10 wherein thegraphics area further comprises at least one graphic item selected fromthe group of a building layout, an aerial map, a plat map, a fill mapand an electrical resistivity map.
 21. The transparency system of claim10 wherein the electrical resistivity map contains three dimensionaldata.
 22. The transparency system of claim 21 wherein the graphics areacontains a vertical subsection of the electrical resistivity map. 23.The transparency system of claim 10 wherein the each overlay of the setof transparent geotechnical overlays comprises marking in a singletranslucent color.
 24. A transparency system for generating a risksassessment for a project related to a geotechnical construction sitecomprising: a light table comprising an illumination source; a retainingpin fastened to the light table; a set of transparent geotechnicaloverlays related to the geotechnical construction site; wherein eachoverlay of the set of transparent geotechnical overlays has a hole forthe insertion of the retaining pin whereby the set of transparentgeotechnical overlays are rotatably fastened to the light table andilluminated; wherein each overlay of the set of transparent geotechnicaloverlays comprises translucent markings to communicate information; aquestion list including questions relating to the project, each questionin the question list having a question code; a risk list including risksrelated to the project, each risk in the risk list having a risk code; acontacts list including a set of contacts related to the project, eachcontact in the contact list having a contact code; wherein eachtransparent geotechnical overlay in the set of transparent geotechnicaloverlays further comprises: a first data area containing the questionlist; a risk assessment area comprising at least one second data areawith a response box to enter an answer to at least one question in thequestion list by a user; a third data area containing projectidentification information; a fourth data area containing contactinformation from the contacts list; a graphics area for displayinggeographical information related to the project; wherein the first dataarea, the risk assessment area and the third data area for every overlayin the set of transparent overlays are in the same lateral position;wherein the second data area and the fourth data area for each overlayin the set of transparent overlays is in a different lateral position;and, wherein the graphics area for every overlay in the set oftransparent overlays corresponds to the same geographical longitudinaland latitude coordinates and is produced at the same scale.
 25. Thetransparency system of claim 24 wherein the set of transparentgeotechnical overlays comprise at least one overlay selected from thegroup of a civil engineering overlay, a site development overlay, anenvironmental overlay, a geotechnical overlay, and a structural overlay.26. The transparency system of claim 24 wherein the set of transparentgeotechnical overlays comprise a civil engineering overlay, a sitedevelopment overlay, an environmental overlay, a geotechnical overlay,and a structural overlay.
 27. The transparency system of claim 24wherein the fourth data area containing the contact information furthercomprises a contact code.
 28. The transparency system of claim 24wherein the fourth data area containing the contact information furthercomprises a status code.
 29. The transparency system of claim 24 whereinthe at least one second data area further comprises a question box and aquestion identification number.
 30. The transparency system of claim 24wherein the response box of the at least one second data area containsat least one risk code associated to a risk in the risk list.
 31. Thetransparency system of claim 24 wherein the response box of the at leastone second data area contains a mark signifying one of the groupcomprising an uncompleted risk area and a completed risk area.
 32. Thetransparency system of claim 24 wherein the graphics area furthercomprises at least one graphic item selected from the group of abuilding layout, an aerial map, a plat map, a fill map and an electricalresistivity map.
 33. A method of evaluating risks on a constructionproject comprising: providing a set of questions related to theconstruction project; associating each question of the set of questionswith at least one of a plurality of engineering disciplines; providing aset of contacts associated with each engineering discipline of theplurality of engineering disciplines; associating each of the questionsof the set of questions with a unique question code; providing a limitedset of answers for each question of the set of questions; associating arisk from a set of risks with each answer of the limited set of answersfor each question of the set of questions by a unique risk code;recording a response to each question of the set of questions whereby acorrelation to a risk from the set of risks is achieved using the uniquerisk code; and, tabulating a number of responses recorded to provide anevaluation of the risks on the construction project.
 34. The method ofclaim 33 whereby the step of associating each question of the set ofquestions includes the further steps of: associating a subset ofquestions of the set of questions with a civil engineering discipline;associating a subset of questions of the set of questions with astructural engineering discipline; associating a subset of questions ofthe set of questions with a environmental engineering discipline;associating a subset of questions of the set of questions with ageotechnical engineering discipline; and, associating a subset ofquestions of the set of questions with a site development engineeringdiscipline.